Sound Transit, the transit agency serving the Seattle regional area, will have its Link light rail trains running on 100 percent clean energy beginning in 2019 after announcing April 18 that it has signed a 10-year agreement with Puget Sound Energy. The agreement, the first of its kind in Washington State, will enable Sound Transit to purchase wind energy directly from PSE's Green Direct program.

"Sound Transit continues to demonstrate that being a sustainability leader can be done both with minimal expense and maximum positive impact on our economy," said Dave Somers, Sound Transit's board chair and the Snohomish County Executive. "This agreement allows us to make Link light rail service carbon neutral while improving regional air quality and investing in local clean energy projects."

The transit agency's 2015 Sustainability Plan and the voter-approved Sound Transit 3 ballot measure committed the agency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expand the use of renewable energy, and make all of its facilities and electricity carbon neutral by 2030.

Green Direct is a collaboration between PSE and its customers, the World Resources Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund that paves the way for constructing wind-power facilities. It was approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission on Sept. 29, 2016.